Good start of the season for Lotto-Belisol on their Ridley Bikes

After his victory in the People’s Choice Classic, André Greipel has also won the first stage of the Tour Down Under on his Ridley Noah Fast.

After an impressive team performance, the German was faster in the bunch sprint than Arnaud Demare and Mark Renshaw.

André Greipel: "Because only one man was riding in front, it was pretty easy to control the race, although apart from Argos there wasn't really another team prepared to help us. The last five kilometers were hectic. Sky came to the front a bit too early and we could make use of that. Two kilometers from the finish line Sieberg took over, after him Roelandts and Henderson did their part; we were very strong, but although it may have looked easy, it wasn't. At 250 meters from the finish I looked over my shoulder and took off."

6 out of 9

This victory of Greipel is the sixth one for Lotto-Belisol in only nine races. De German sprinter already won the People's Choice Classic, and in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo (tour of Gabon) Gert Dockx and Frédérique Robert each won two stages. Moreover Gaëtan Bille finished third in Gabon, his first podium in a stage race.

For races like the Tour of Gabon, People's Choice Classic and the Tour Down Under, the Lotto-Belisol team uses the Ridley Noah Fast and the Ridley Helium SL. In the following months they will also use the Ridley Fenix for the cobble classics like the 'Ronde van Vlaanderen' and Paris-Roubaix.